What Kanji Are
Where the characters came from, what they do, and how they combine.
Three Scripts, One Sentence
Japanese uses three kinds of writing at the same time. You can already read two of them.
Kanji is the third one. It came from Chinese a long time ago.
Kana tell you how a word sounds. Kanji tell you what a word means.
あHiraganaThe round one. It carries the grammar and the everyday words.
アKatakanaThe pointy one. It is used for words borrowed from other languages.
漢KanjiThe picture one. It came from Chinese, and one character carries the meaning of a word.
Some Started as Pictures
A few kanji still look like the thing they mean.
Most of them do not, but these are a friendly place to start.
Characters Combine
Kanji can stack together. When they do, the new character often tells you what it means.